OREANDA-NEWS. Huawei yesterday kicked off its fifth ICT Finance Forum, inviting leaders in banking and finance to exchange views with senior ICT executives on issues affecting their respective industries and the global economy.

Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng delivers a keynote speech at the Huawei Fifth ICT Finance Forum

In a keynote speech, Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng called on financial leaders to “build mutual understanding and confidence, and promote long-term partnerships that benefit both ICT industry players and financial institutions.”

In previous years, the forum has been held in Dubai, Singapore, London, and New York. Guests invited to speak at this year’s event included Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank and Governor of the Bank of France; Luc Frieden, Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank; Stephen King, Chief Economist of HSBC; and Viktor Mayer, an Oxford University professor and co-author of Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think.

In her remarks, Ms. Meng said that Huawei is focused on ICT infrastructure and maintains a strong commitment to innovation. The company invests at least 10% of its sales revenue in R&D and innovation each year, and over the last decade has made total R&D investments of approximately CNY190 billion, or about US\$30.7 billion. More than 45% of the company’s nearly 170,000 employees are engaged in R&D and innovation.

Ms. Meng told the audience, “Huawei engages in open collaboration with other industry players in Europe, thereby contributing to an industrial ecosystem that benefits the European economy. We advocate integrating with mainstream international standards such as 3GPP and IETF, and working with our industry peers to expand markets and grow together.” Huawei belongs to more than 170 standards organizations and open-source communities, and holds over 180 key positions in these organizations, including membership on the boards of the IEEE-SA, ETSI, WFA, and TMF.

Huawei has built mutually beneficial partnerships in Europe. Last year, it invested about 70 million Euros in technology partnerships in the region, and cooperated with over 100 universities and research institutes. The company also signed agreements on 200 technical cooperation projects in Europe, and was involved in 25 EU Horizon 2020 projects.

As a leading global ICT solutions provider, Huawei will proactively supply Industry 4.0 solutions, many of which will center on 5G networks. Huawei is a world leader in the 5G technologies that will serve as the cornerstone of tomorrow’s digital infrastructure. By combining its competitive edge in ICT with Europe’s industrial advantages, Huawei will contribute significantly to Industry 4.0.

Huawei has consistently acted as a responsible corporate citizen. While creating the greatest possible value for customers, Huawei has proactively fulfilled its corporate social responsibilities, helping European countries to develop sustainably. For example, Huawei offers scholarships and a cultural exchange program to many European universities. This program is currently available to students in the UK, France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Italy, and will be expanded to more European countries in the future.

Huawei is a multinational company with a global business presence. Forty-five of the world’s top 50 telecom carriers are Huawei customers. Huawei’s competitive products and solutions are deployed in over 170 countries, serving more than one-third of the world’s population. In fiscal 2014, over 66% of Huawei’s revenue came from markets outside of China.